The invention relates to the means of mounting a toll calculator in a motor vehicle, the toll calculator being equipped at least with a display and being arranged on the dashboard of the motor vehicle.
Devices which are not designed as built-in devices, or cannot be designed as built-in devices, because they are not generally provided for their purpose of use, for example in motor vehicles, or have to be retrofitted owing to new legal requirements but on the other hand are to be arranged in the direct field of view and within reach of the driver, can be positioned, if appropriate, directly on the windscreen or, when they have relatively large dimensions and are relatively heavy, have to be positioned on the upper side of the dashboard of the respective motor vehicle which is assigned to the windshield. This is the situation with toll calculators which are known to be used for calculating charges (tolls) for using roads.
Such a toll calculation is based on identifying a route, during which process a comparison between the toll-incurring road sections which are stored in the toll calculator and the respective fixed toll charges is made after each determination of a position, which is determined, for example on a second-by-second basis, by means of the GPS receiver which is arranged in the toll calculator. If a toll is calculated using user data and vehicle data, it is debited from the toll credit of the user and proof of authorization to use the respective road section is produced. Here, a chipcard which is introduced into the toll calculator can be used as the credit carrier and/or there may be provision for the respective tolls and other data to be transferred, preferably via a mobile telephone network, to a central system which, for its part, updates the data which is necessary for the charging of tolls. The proof of authorization which is produced can be checked automatically, that is to say while traveling, when the respective motor vehicle passes a beacon which, for this purpose, is generally permanently arranged above or to the side of the roadway on the respective section of road, or is possibly also installed on a vehicle. In this context, the communication between a beacon and the toll calculator takes place in accordance with the interrogation method provided, for example using a suitable microwave link or infrared link, a corresponding transceiver module being either mounted directly on the windshield of the respective vehicle or being assigned to the toll calculator so as to be capable of pivoting in a suitable way and thus oriented in an interrogation direction.
In order, as indicated at the beginning, to mount the toll calculator on a dashboard, it has already been proposed to provide a carrier which, in order, for example, to permit toll credit and status information to be read satisfactorily on the display of the toll calculator, permits the toll calculator which can be connected to the carrier to be pivoted to a certain degree, but which carrier on the other hand also makes it possible to avoid visually unattractive clips or rails which would have to be formed on the housing of the toll calculator for direct mounting of the toll calculator on a dashboard. Owing to the considerable differences in the topography of the dashboards from one type of vehicle to another, preferably three adjustable mounting elements are assigned to the carrier itself, which elements are connected to the respective dashboard by bonding.
Irrespective of the fact that certain dashboards do not provide the necessary area for a toll calculator to be mounted in this way because they drop away steeply in the direction of the dashboard, that is to say have a rib-shaped cross section, and subsequent mounting operations can basically be performed only under difficult conditions, the toll calculator must be mounted with the utmost care in order to avoid damage to the surface of a dashboard, for example by adhesive residues, with the result that a high degree of mounting complexity has to be accepted. On the other hand, a toll calculator is to be constructed and mounted in such a way that the field of vision of the driver is adversely affected as little as possible and the device and its means of mounting also satisfy aesthetic requirements.